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Vet candidates vigorously, not viciously, in 2020 Democratic debates

Supporters and protesters alike converged in Downtown Miami for day two of the Democratic debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center on Thursday, June 27, 2019.(Photo: Ricardo Rolon, Ricardo Rolon/The News-Press USA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA)

HELP WANTED: Adult human Democrat, age 35 or older, with working knowledge of/ respect for democracy and functions of each branch of government, even temperament, ability to cultivate and sustain relationships with foreign leaders who are not despots and the wisdom to hire competent professionals to move a progressive agenda. Must work well with others. witter addicts, racists, sexists or xenophobes need not apply.

This week, the largest field of Democratic presidential candidates in modern history will visit Detroit for the second round of Democratic presidential debates. , I will be listening carefully to each candidate’s ideas, and I already have a loose ranking of which candidates' messages excite me most.

But if the 2016 presidential campaign taught me anything, it is that while my dream candidate will be a person who both inspires me and appeals to my wonkish yearning for evidence-based policy initiatives, I will wholeheartedly support any person who is the Democratic nominee. I have a singular goal for 2020: beating Donald Trump.

I hope Democrats also learned something from the 2016 campaign: While researching and debating the records and ideas of candidates who seek our party’s nomination is our civic responsibility, there’s a difference between vigorous vetting and vicious vetting.

I wince whenever I see my fellow Dems engage in critiques of our candidates that careen past constructive criticism and into scorched-earth territory. We need to be able to examine candidates' records and ideas without devolving into the kind of intraparty hate-fest that hobbled Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016.

The truth of the matter is that not one of the 20 candidates who will take the Fox Theater stage on Tuesday and Wednesday would be a worse leader than Donald Trump. And I can’t imagine that any wouldn’t be exponentially better. .

It has been said that when it comes to choosing their party’s candidates, Republicans know how to fall in line, but Democrats think we have to fall in love. So go ahead and fall in love in the primary.

But if in the end, your guy or gal isn’t the party’s nominee, take Stephen Still’s advice: If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.

Better yet, love the one who is most likely to be with you on the issues that matter most. If you are a Democrat, you know that person is not Donald Trump.

Kim Trent was elected to an eight-year term on the Wayne State University Board of Governors in 2012. She previously served as the director of former Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm's southeast Michigan office.